There have been times throughout this year where I have come across an ethical dilemma that had me wondering many things. Can I handle this, how should I handle this, what are the ramifications of handling it one way versus another way, who would be effected by my decision? When faced with challenges that deal with ethics it is important to understand that ethics are personal. They are dependent on people's feelings and goals regarding themselves and others, so in that sense can be viewed as right for some while wrong for others. Here I present three ethical dilemmas and how I handled them. In looking at the "whole" picture, one can actually break down each scenerio into a multitude of ethical decisions that if decided to respond in another fashion would have had a different outcome.
I sign all overtime sheets for my department. I noticed that an AP was submitting a large number of overtime hours. While doing this internship I remained on a teacher line, therefore, directly questioning her would have been out of the question as it is not proper for a teacher to question an AP (ethical dilemma one.) I knew she was doing the work she claimed, but I also knew that the work was not taking her as long as she was billing. Working for the public (I felt) I had an obligation to the tax payers to ensure money wasn’t being spent unnecessarily (ethical dilemma two.) I work with very smart people, who have great ideas and suggestions. Surrounding myself with people who can offer valuable insight is very important. I really didn’t want to “whistle blow” but I knew she needed to stop billing inflated hours. Working with my team we devised a policy that directly dealt with the work that needed to be completed and the amount of time our office would reimburse for it. http://www.nycdoe.org/site_res_view_template.aspx?id=2f966393-973b-41ad-b7cc-c13a700aae70 Setting this policy in place allowed for the dilemma to be solved, allowed me to not challenge someone who was in higher position then me, put a serious curb to the unnecessary spending of public funds and allowed my team to work collaboratively to resolve an issue and place a guideline to prevent future issues.
“NYC Leaders are in a war with NYC Parents” What is the war? Cell Phones in the classroom. Those nasty phones that allow children to cheat. That is unethical, isn’t it? Children cheating using a phone, because we all know that before the phone children didn’t cheat. Children are texting their friends and conversing while class is going on. That is unethical, isn’t it? And we all know that before the cell phoneschildren never passed notes in class and talked in class. As I read countless articles that have consumed our local newspapers http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/nyregion/01school.html?ei=5090&en=c62cc6ce1360cf20&ex=1338350400&adxnnl=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1181394147-p2D1t4vmkKBZSsunK1bI3g I wonder to myself, how do I get leaders to believe the value of cell phones as important pieces of technology that needs to be taught to our students. We need to teach them how to use them responsibly and appropriately. Don’t educators have a moral and ethical obligation to teach our students, well cell phones are not going away, in fact they are becoming more and more like personal PCs http://www.apple.com/iphone/ and if we don’t teach the right uses for these devices we are going to be at war for a very long time (not to mention depriving our students a 21st century education). The Chancellor says no, the Mayor says no, but the students, the technology and the parents are saying yes. To begin chiseling at this dilemma, we have tried to teach proper use to our own teachers who come through the technology training center. Cell phones must be turned off during meetings and calls may be placed in an area that is away from someone else’s workspace. It is not OK to accept a call during Professional Development. Texting Google to find out an answer is a good thing http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/mobile/sms/ Teaching teachers to behave properly and harness the power of the phones is a start to a very big dilemma. We have set a policy in place in the training center, that I am hopefull will one day serve as a model for all schools.
Working for the same company that serves me as a customer can pose to be a challenging situation and have serious ethical dilemmas. I am an employee of the NYCDOE. I am a tax payer for NYC. I am a parent in NYC. My child attends a NYC school. I am aware of rules, policies and procedures. My son’s school does not have a library. As a parent I am sad that there isn’t a place for him to go and submerse himself into a good book. There isn’t a librarian to show him the marvels that await him within the shelves. I also know that schools are given federal money, federal money that is earmarked for library books. So if the school doesn’t have a library but is getting money what’s happening? Do I talk to the “powers-at-be” about this misuse of funds? Do I speak to the principal as a parent? As a colleague? Many scenarios ran through my head on the way to deal with this as ethically and morally as possible. What would the ramifications be? What results did I want to achieve. I want a library, I like the principal, didn’t want to see her get into trouble. As I consulted with my smart, bright friends who always offer great suggestions and possible scenario outcomes, I decided to ask as a parent. I approached the situation as a concerned parent (which I was) who wanted to know why her son’s school didn’t have a library. The principal explained that for budget reasons she couldn’t afford the manpower to run the room (the librarian) and offered without me asking, that the funds she receives for the books is used to purchase classroom libraries. While she knows that this isn’t the greatest solution for her students, it’s the best she can do under these circumstances. I realized that while I was faced with an ethical dilemma on discovering why there wasn’t a library and what was going on with the money she was faced with a dilemma on how to use the money as responsibly as possible within the tight constraints of school leadership and tight budgets. Dilemmas scaffold. It seems that when you discover one (and they are always there) more pop up, and to quote Patrick Slattery “Ethics can be understood only in the context of the messy and ambiguous struggle to live meaningful and consequential lives in the midst of human aspirations, desires, frailties, and shortcomings.”
Ethics for Administrators
Objectives:
Activities:
Below are some case studies from a friend who took a similar class...they might be able to help or at least get the thought process moving along:
Here is my assignment: Chritine
Admin 703 Ethics for Administrator
There have been times throughout this year where I have come across an ethical dilemma that had me wondering many things. Can I handle this, how should I handle this, what are the ramifications of handling it one way versus another way, who would be effected by my decision? When faced with challenges that deal with ethics it is important to understand that ethics are personal. They are dependent on people's feelings and goals regarding themselves and others, so in that sense can be viewed as right for some while wrong for others. Here I present three ethical dilemmas and how I handled them. In looking at the "whole" picture, one can actually break down each scenerio into a multitude of ethical decisions that if decided to respond in another fashion would have had a different outcome.
I sign all overtime sheets for my department. I noticed that an AP was submitting a large number of overtime hours. While doing this internship I remained on a teacher line, therefore, directly questioning her would have been out of the question as it is not proper for a teacher to question an AP (ethical dilemma one.) I knew she was doing the work she claimed, but I also knew that the work was not taking her as long as she was billing. Working for the public (I felt) I had an obligation to the tax payers to ensure money wasn’t being spent unnecessarily (ethical dilemma two.) I work with very smart people, who have great ideas and suggestions. Surrounding myself with people who can offer valuable insight is very important. I really didn’t want to “whistle blow” but I knew she needed to stop billing inflated hours. Working with my team we devised a policy that directly dealt with the work that needed to be completed and the amount of time our office would reimburse for it. http://www.nycdoe.org/site_res_view_template.aspx?id=2f966393-973b-41ad-b7cc-c13a700aae70 Setting this policy in place allowed for the dilemma to be solved, allowed me to not challenge someone who was in higher position then me, put a serious curb to the unnecessary spending of public funds and allowed my team to work collaboratively to resolve an issue and place a guideline to prevent future issues.
“NYC Leaders are in a war with NYC Parents” What is the war? Cell Phones in the classroom. Those nasty phones that allow children to cheat. That is unethical, isn’t it? Children cheating using a phone, because we all know that before the phone children didn’t cheat. Children are texting their friends and conversing while class is going on. That is unethical, isn’t it? And we all know that before the cell phones children never passed notes in class and talked in class. As I read countless articles that have consumed our local newspapers http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/nyregion/01school.html?ei=5090&en=c62cc6ce1360cf20&ex=1338350400&adxnnl=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1181394147-p2D1t4vmkKBZSsunK1bI3g I wonder to myself, how do I get leaders to believe the value of cell phones as important pieces of technology that needs to be taught to our students. We need to teach them how to use them responsibly and appropriately. Don’t educators have a moral and ethical obligation to teach our students, well cell phones are not going away, in fact they are becoming more and more like personal PCs http://www.apple.com/iphone/ and if we don’t teach the right uses for these devices we are going to be at war for a very long time (not to mention depriving our students a 21st century education). The Chancellor says no, the Mayor says no, but the students, the technology and the parents are saying yes. To begin chiseling at this dilemma, we have tried to teach proper use to our own teachers who come through the technology training center. Cell phones must be turned off during meetings and calls may be placed in an area that is away from someone else’s workspace. It is not OK to accept a call during Professional Development. Texting Google to find out an answer is a good thing http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/mobile/sms/ Teaching teachers to behave properly and harness the power of the phones is a start to a very big dilemma. We have set a policy in place in the training center, that I am hopefull will one day serve as a model for all schools.
Working for the same company that serves me as a customer can pose to be a challenging situation and have serious ethical dilemmas. I am an employee of the NYCDOE. I am a tax payer for NYC. I am a parent in NYC. My child attends a NYC school. I am aware of rules, policies and procedures. My son’s school does not have a library. As a parent I am sad that there isn’t a place for him to go and submerse himself into a good book. There isn’t a librarian to show him the marvels that await him within the shelves. I also know that schools are given federal money, federal money that is earmarked for library books. So if the school doesn’t have a library but is getting money what’s happening? Do I talk to the “powers-at-be” about this misuse of funds? Do I speak to the principal as a parent? As a colleague? Many scenarios ran through my head on the way to deal with this as ethically and morally as possible. What would the ramifications be? What results did I want to achieve. I want a library, I like the principal, didn’t want to see her get into trouble. As I consulted with my smart, bright friends who always offer great suggestions and possible scenario outcomes, I decided to ask as a parent. I approached the situation as a concerned parent (which I was) who wanted to know why her son’s school didn’t have a library. The principal explained that for budget reasons she couldn’t afford the manpower to run the room (the librarian) and offered without me asking, that the funds she receives for the books is used to purchase classroom libraries. While she knows that this isn’t the greatest solution for her students, it’s the best she can do under these circumstances. I realized that while I was faced with an ethical dilemma on discovering why there wasn’t a library and what was going on with the money she was faced with a dilemma on how to use the money as responsibly as possible within the tight constraints of school leadership and tight budgets. Dilemmas scaffold. It seems that when you discover one (and they are always there) more pop up, and to quote Patrick Slattery “Ethics can be understood only in the context of the messy and ambiguous struggle to live meaningful and consequential lives in the midst of human aspirations, desires, frailties, and shortcomings.”